A/N: This is my first fanfic and please give me feedback. Be as ruthless as you want. I don't kurr. But I do. I also don't understand the American grading system, so use your imagination and pretend that it makes sense in this story. ANYWAY, I don't own Dazed and Confused or their characters but I do own the Brennans, Haley and Lana. Enjoy or not.
Chapter One
"Gracie! Get up! You'll be late for school!"
A young teenage girl screws her brown eyes shut at the shout, further snuggling into her bed and putting the comforter over her head. She hoped that the blanket would block out her mothers' voice until her bedroom door burst open.
"Gracie-Lou Brennan! You get that ass out of that bed before I drag you out!" Her mother, Dawn, glared at her eldest daughter with one hand on the door handle and one on her hip. Gracie peeked out of her comforter to see her mother dressed in her white nurses uniform.
"Aren't nurses meant to have good bedside manner?" Gracie jokingly asked Dawn.
"Aren't children meant to listen to their parents?" Dawn raised an eyebrow and smirked a little. "Come on, get up. Don't want to be late for your last day of high school."
Gracie sighed and lay heavily back down on her bed. Today was her last day of high school ever. After today, she'll have no more after school cheer practice, no more homework, no more teachers. It was a bittersweet feeling finishing her senior year. She knew after today, she wasn't going to see the same faces every day or walk the school halls ever again. Kevin's party that night was the only reason she sat up in bed and looked to her mother.
"Since it's my last day, shouldn't I just stay home? It's kind of pointless to go to school." Gracie hopefully reasons with her mother but Dawn raised her eyebrow, pointedly looked at her and walked off leaving Gracie's door open.
"I guess that's a no." Gracie murmured to herself before flinging her blankets back and finally getting out of bed. After going to the bathroom, Gracie decided on a soft yellow halter top and high-waist flared jeans. She had her brown shoulder bag with her make-up but couldn't find her shoes. She looked in her closet and under her bed but couldn't see them anywhere. Gracie walked down the hall to Laura's open bedroom door. Her younger sister was in the process of tying her blonde hair up but Gracie notices her brown wedges by Laura's closet.
"I keep telling you, stop wearing my shoes!" Gracie stomped into Laura's room and picked up her shoes. "If you want to borrow them, ask me first. That isn't hard for your brain, is it?"
Laura comically widens her green eyes at Gracie in the mirror, "I have no idea what you're talking about. They just magically appeared on my feet yesterday at school."
"My foot might magically end up your ass." Gracie imitated Laura and widen her eyes at Laura. Laura took after their mother and was a Sophmore at the same school as Gracie. They were pretty close for sisters who were close in age and being the younger sister of a cheerleader had its perks by running with the cool crowd. But it didn't help that they were the same size because each other's clothes always ended up in the other's room.
"Ohhh, I'm so scared." Laura turned around and mocked Gracie.
"You should be." Gracie pointed her finger at Laura and walked downstairs to the kitchen. Dawn was sipping her coffee while reading the newspaper on the counter. Gracie just took a moment to admire Dawn. She always thought her mother was beautiful with her short blonde hair and brown eyes. Dawn was slight in stature but her loud, sarcastic personality could fill a room. Gracie still doesn't know how her mother became a nurse.
Gracie put her belongings on the dining table with her shoes on the floor beside the chair. She walked barefoot to get a glass of water. She just got a glass out when Laura stomped her way downstairs with her tote bag and hair done up.
"How come you took longer than your sister to get ready when you were up before her, huh?" Dawn put her cup down and asked pointedly at Laura. Laura put her things on the table before getting a bowl of cheerios.
"Mom, you deserve at least one daughter who cares about their hair." Laura raised an eyebrow at Gracie's hair, which was down and wild.
"I resent that! I didn't have time to do anything to it." Gracie defended herself, even though she could only blame herself for sleeping in, but ran her hand through her hair several times to try and tame it. A car horn blasted twice from outside and Gracie hurriedly drank her glass of water. "That would be Haley. Are you riding with us, Law?"
"Nah, Jessica's picking me up today." Laura chomped down on her cereal.
"Okay." Gracie put the glass in the sink and rushed to put her heels on her feet. After getting her bag on her shoulder, Gracie tucked her hair behind her ear while Dawn came around the counter to hug her daughter.
"Last day of high school! Don't do anything I wouldn't do like ditch last period to smoke or hook up." Dawn reminisced but Gracie felt slightly grossed out at her mom's confession and quickly kissed her Mom on the cheek. Haley beeped twice from outside.
"Ew. That's my cue to go now." Gracie waved to them and made her way through the front door, down the path and straight to the curb where Haleys Ford Pinto was parked. Gracie and Haley have known each other since their first day of middle school when ten-year-old Gracie told eleven-year-old Haley that her shoes were ugly and eleven-year-old Haley replied 'they match your sweater.' From then on, they both knew that when they needed the truth about anything from clothes to boys to future colleges the other was straight up.
"You look horrible. I hope you weren't giving O'Donnell blowjobs last night at on the field again." Haley smirked a little as she pulled away from the curb, her straight black hair pinned back from her face. Gracie put her bag into the car floor and look slightly offended at Haley.
"For your information, O'Donnell blowjobs are on Tuesdays." Haley laughed out loud and Gracie couldn't help but join in even though it was the truth. Gracie and Benny usually Rendevous on Tuesdays after meeting their friends at the Emporium. It always ended up with their hands down each other's pants in Benny's truck. The past Tuesday wasn't any different from the several before that. They were simply friends coupled up with a few 'benefits' here and there.
"What exactly is going to happen to you and Benny during the summer? Are you two gonna still mess around or will you finally stop screwing around with that jack ass?'" Gracie rolled her eyes at her friend. She has been hearing the same spiel for the past couple months and that may have been because she was starting college in the fall in Houston. Her and Benny haven't had the awaited conversation about what would happen between them when she went to college. The truth was she didn't want to admit to herself that she might miss the brute but she definitely will never admit the truth to Haley. Not while she was in control of the car.
"I don't know, man. I have a lot of things to do during the summer. Moving to Houston, seeing the grandparents, not to mention the part-time job I managed to get down at the park up. I'll just be too busy and packed out to do anything, let alone Benny." Gracie joked. She pulled a compact mirror to double-check her hair as Haley turned the corner.
"I still cannot believe your Mom dragged you to Top Notch and demanded they give you a job for the summer. You do realise that everyone goes there, including Benny. And those outfits! You have to wear that red dress with the permanent ketchup stains and serve old geezers who will probably perve at your ass when you walk away!" Haley cackled to herself like she said the most hilarious thing ever, even hitting her hand on the steering wheel. Gracie snapped her compact and scowled fiercely back at her.
"I officially hate you right now. And I've already thought of every possible outcome this job will have this summer. The worst won't be the old creeps or the uniform but rather you and Lana driving up and demanding turkey burgers even though they don't sell that there." Haley snapped back as Haley pulled into the school parking lot. The parking lot was almost full with students huddling together with their friends around their cars.
"That actually a brilliant idea." Haley snipped back with a smirk. She saw a free spot and hastily parked her car. "But seriously, your Mom is my idol. I wish I could be that badass when I'm older."
"Well, if she was so badass, she should've let me skip this whole day. What's the point anyways? Nothing we do today is going to benefit us in the future." Both girls got their belongings and hopped out of the car.
Haley answered Gracie over the top of the car and they both closed their doors. "Last days are a commemoration to our adolescence, to say goodbye to our childish hopes and dreams in order to start a life of uncontrollable debt, uncontrollable taxes and alcohol."
"Basically we are here to become bankrupt alcoholics. What a pleasant thought." Gracie murmured and shook her head. She walked around the front of the car to meet Haley with her bag on her shoulder.
"Speaking of pleasant," Haley muttered and Gracie looked puzzled until she saw Haley's pointed stare over her shoulder to something behind her. Gracie turned her head to see Benny standing near his truck with some boys from the football team about three cars down from Haley's car. Benny was laughing with Don, who had his back to the girls but his eyes were on hers for a couple of seconds before he looked back to Don, seemingly ignoring her. For some strange reason, him not acknowledging her left her a little hurt. She knew why she felt hurt but her not admitting her feelings would help the day go faster. In her mind anyway.
"Hey! There you guys are! I've been waiting for half an hour for you to get here. What took you so long?" The voice of Lana was like ice-cold water over Gracie's thoughts and she was super grateful for her friend's arrival.
"Looking at carrot top apparently." Haley quipped up and rose an eyebrow at Gracie expectedly. Gracie glared and flipped the bird in reply but Haley just smirked as if she knew what Gracie was thinking before.
"Forget about him, Gracie. He's not even that nice to look at, besides you have much more important things to think about. Like the next two days." Lana's curly dirty blonde hair shone in the sun as she hooked each of her arms through Gracie's and Haley's. The three girls started walking towards the school doors.
"What's happening in the next two days?" Gracie asked, trying to get her mind off of Benny.
"Hello! Kevin's party is tonight and then Daniels folks left on Monday for their anniversary getaway so he's throwing a end of year party for the seniors. We are gonna have on hell of a weekend, ladies." Lana excitedly said with a big grin on her face. If it was one thing that Lana Kowalski was good at, it was bong, booze and boys. Lana knew how to party but, even better, knew how to show other people a good time. She mixed the best drinks, rolled the fattest joint and was the ultimate wingman, which was how she introduced Gracie to Benny. So if Lana said they were going to have a good weekend, they were definitely going to have a good weekend.
With that, the three girls walked into the school as the morning bell rang.